[at-l] Gutsy & Dan trip report (long)

[DanandGailSC@aol.com (DanandGailSC@aol.com)]

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Gutsy and Dan's Trip Report: Bartram and Foothills Trails

Saturday Gail (Gutsy) and I arrived home after a 7-day, 112-mile backpackin=
g
trip during Thanksgiving week.  The idea originally was to hike from the
Appalachian Trail at Wayah Bald to our home in upper SC via the Bartram and
Foothills Trail.  This was shortened because of too many miles.  We actuall=
y
started about 10 miles south of Franklin, NC, at the southern end of the
13-mile road walk between sections of the Bartram Trail, and ended 20 miles
from home, at U.S. highway 178 near the NC/SC state line.  The weather was
clear but cold.  The 16 miles per day average was grueling.  We fell three
times between us on roots or slippery leaves.  No blisters.  We found John
Ray's Bartram Trail guide with maps to be very useful for planning our
campsites for the first three nights.  We used no guide for the Foothills
Trail, having hiked it a total of ten times between the two of us.  But we
did have the mileage totals for the sections covered.

Day 1.  Sunday, Nov. 24.  13 miles.  NC.
Harry dropped us off at the Buckeye Creek trailhead at 9:30 a.m.  In less
than three miles we came upon a school bus parked on a ridge right beside t=
he
trail, and I took a picture of Gail "driving" it.  The bus is near Doubleto=
p
Fields and had apparently been used as housing at one time.  At Wolf Rock
Overlook we stopped for a snack, while enjoying the vista of Wolf Rock and
Fishhawk Mountains.  We took the 1200-ft. spur trail to the summit of
Fishhawk Mountain to see the plaque honoring William Bartram.  At Whiterock
Gap, elevation 4150 ft, we met six dayhikers resting on their way to
Whiterock Mountain.  We did not take the spur trail to that summit.  Later =
we
saw two dayhikers at a rock outcropping overlook just before Hickory Gap.  =
At
5 p.m. we reached the small campsite beside a spring which was our
destination for the night.  The "campsite" was barely big enough for the
tent, but it was ok; and the spring had little flow.  I walked 300 feet
downstream through the rhododendron thickets until I found water flow
sufficient to collect water.  Because of the converging streams and darkeni=
ng
skies I was concerned about finding my way quickly back to camp.  Hoping to
avoid the thick undergrowth near the stream, I walked about 30 feet right o=
f
my original path, and within one minute I found myself on the Bartram Trail=
.
I sighed a prayer of thanks to God and walked the trail five minutes back t=
o
camp in the dusk, carrying wine bladder with a gallon of water.

Day 2.  Monday.  18 miles.  NC/GA.
Each day we started walking between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., twenty minutes afte=
r
awaking.  Breakfast and morning snacks were gorp and energy bars.  Around
noon we found a sunny spot to dry and air the tent and sleeping bag, and to
cook a meal of couscous.  Half a mile from last night's campsite we summite=
d
Scaly Mt., elev. 4804'.  Crossed highway 106, crossed NC/GA state line in t=
he
morning.  At 12:30 p.m., summited Rabun Bald, elev. 4,696', second highest
point in GA.  Nice rock tower with observation deck.  Aired gear, cooked an=
d
ate lunch, took photo.  As we were leaving, two families with children out
for a dayhike arrived at the bald.  The next stretch was mostly down, and w=
e
covered the miles quickly: Flint Gap, 1:30; Wilson Gap, 3 p.m.; Windy Gap,
3:40 p.m.  We reached our day's destination at 5 p.m.  And the trail guide
was correct:  "One of the few campsites with water on this stretch of trail=
."
 This was probably our favorite campsite of the trip.   An adequate trickle
of water flowed across the trail; an old roadbed made a great tent site.  T=
he
teepee-shaped tent, as usual, was suspended by a rope from trees and staked
at the bottom.  Gail cooked supper on a wood fire.  Two times later in the
week we used wood, but at other times we used Esbit tablets.  Bedtime, as
usual, was between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Day 3.  Tuesday.  18 miles.  To Earl's Ford Road + .8 mile.  GA.
With today's hike losing elevation and ending near the Chattooga River, thi=
s
was the easiest day.  We enjoyed several nice waterfalls.  Martin Creek
Falls, 8:45 a.m.  Warwoman Dell, with interesting historical information
about CCC projects and Civil War era railroad projects, 9:40 a.m.  At Green
Gap, 10:25, joined Goat Trail for .3 miles.  Lunch break was on end of a
ridge descending from Rainy Mt., .2 miles after one of the few water source=
s
on this stretch.  Bob Gap, 1:10 p.m.  Sandy Ford Road, 2:35 p.m.  Met two
dayhikers here. As at most access points along the Bartram Trail, we found =
a
rock inscribed with: "BARTRAM TRAIL" and location or mileage information=E2=
=80=93
obviously quite old.  The Chattooga River views were wonderful, and
reminiscent of the Suwannee River along the Florida Trail.  At 4 p.m. at
Earl's Ford Road, we met Hubert, an elderly hunter and former police chief =
of
Clayton, GA, who engaged us in friendly conversation.  This was our intende=
d
stop for the night, but he discouraged us from using water from Warwoman
Creek.  So we continued .8 miles further to a high ridge.  Water was found
trickling in a the small cove below.  Supper tonight was turkey-flavored
dressing and craisins.  At bedtime, the 53-degree temperature was hard for =
me
to deal with.  Under the shared 5-degree sleeping bag, I burned up.  With a=
ll
my clothes on, I shivered outside the sleeping bag.  Gail was comfortable
using the sleeping bag in any temperature, and I annoyed her mightily in th=
e
small tent with my attempts to add or subtract clothing for comfort.  Final=
ly
the temperature dropped enough so that I could endure the sleeping bag.  Fo=
r
the only time all week, there was some light rain in the night.

Day 4. Wednesday.  18 miles.  To Burrell's Ford, SC.
We enjoyed a few views of the Chattooga River, until at 10 a.m. we reached
the point just south of U.S. 28 where we had stashed a food cache in a bear
cannister eleven days earlier.  After crossing  the Chattooga River on the
highway bridge, we continued north on the SC side of the river.  At noon we
reached the Foothills Trail junction at Licklog Falls and found a sunny spo=
t
for lunch.  On the section below Burrell's Ford, the trail drops briefly to
the water's edge.  One slip on the rocks and you're wet.  But the trail als=
o
climbs up and away from the river, for a strenuous workout.  Rocks and root=
s
hide under a thick layer of leaves.  Without trail data, and separated afte=
r
I attended nature's call, Gail and I both were puzzled and uneasy by a doub=
le
blaze and a turn which took the trail winding without trail blazes far from
the river. I returned twice to the double blaze, but finding nothing else
that looked like a trail, decided this had to be it.  Minutes earlier, Gail
had concluded the same thing, and I eventually caught up with her.  Only tw=
o
campers were seen on this 8-mile stretch, at Simm's Field campsite, and no
other campers were seen at Burrell's Ford campsite.  At a neighboring
campsite at Burrell's Ford, we found an unopened can of black olives, which
made a delightful addition to the couscous supper.  Appreciation for little
things is always heightened on these trips.  A nice wood fire was great, to=
o.
 At Burrell's Ford, the Chattooga River Trail continues north to Ellicott
Rock and the Foothills Trail turns east towards Whitewater Falls.

Day 5.  Thursday, Nov. 27.  16 miles.  To designated campsite 3 miles beyon=
d
Whitewater Falls.  SC/NC/SC
Thanksgiving Day was the coldest day, starting at 24 degrees and with a hig=
h
around 40.  We did not stop for lunch.  Early in the day met a math teacher
from a Chattanooga high school completing his section hike of the Foothills
Trail.  On the re-route above Whitewater Falls, met a family going in to ha=
ul
out a deer bagged earlier that day.  Great bird's eye views of Bad Creek
reservoir and Jocassee Lake.  At Whitewater Falls, met many tourists,
including the publisher of a book on the Bartram Trail to be released next
year. Later we met a dayhiker headed to Lower Whitewater Falls.  He is an
ethnobotanist specializing in Cherokee culture, working on a doctorate at U=
GA
.  Stopped at a designated campsite=E2=80=93a nice spot, except for slow wa=
ter (fast
drip).  Cooked again on wood.

Day 6.  Friday.  17 miles.  Two miles past Toxaway River.  SC/NC/SC.
All day Friday was spent crossing the NC gorges area.  The new Gorges NC
State Park takes in much of this area.  Several rivers flow from NC into SC=
's
Jocassee Lake.  Yesterday we crossed the Whitewater River, and today we
crossed the Thompson River, Horsepasture River, and Toxaway River, all on
good footbridges constructed by Duke Power.  This is an area with many
waterfalls and lush green coves.  The rare oconee bell flourishes here,
especially near Horsepasture River.  So the day was spent climbing over ste=
ep
ridges and hills separating rivers.  At Bear Gap we met Bill and Bill from
Cullohwee, NC, on an overnight backpack to take photos of Hilliard Falls to
add to his extensive collection.  They gave us a jar of peanut butter and t=
wo
bagels to supplement our meager food supply, which we underestimated
slightly.  A mile east of Horsepasture River we met a dayhiker on a long hi=
ke
from Bad Creek parking area, and also two trail runners headed west.  At
Toxaway River, on the dry shores of a low Lake Jocassee, we cooked supper,
treated water to begin tomorrow's hike, then we hiked two more miles in nea=
r
darkness to camp high.  We try to camp high to reduce condensation in the
tent and avoid the cold that settles in the lower.  The last part was up
steep steps to the top of a narrow ridge=E2=80=93about 500 feet elevation g=
ain in the
last .4 mile.  Here we plopped the tent down on the trail, suspending it on=
 a
rope between two trees.  During the night Gail heard animals on the trail,
then silence, then a whistling sound.  Someone later said it was wild pigs =
on
the trail.

Day 7.  Saturday, Nov. 30.  12 miles.  To U.S. 178, SC.
About half of today's hike was on old roads, some of them very steep.  We
walked down the Laurel Fork Falls access spur trail to the lake.  The lake
level is about 10 feet lower than the last time we were there in July 2000.
We passed by Laurel Fork Falls, and continued on the old roadbed, sometimes
using the old bridges over the stream.  We stopped for lunch at a campsite
about .2 mile downstream from Double Creek Falls.  While there, we met four
hikers who had set up a base camp and were out for a dayhike to Laurel Fork
Falls.  With the temperature at 53 degrees, I was startled to see a
copperhead sunning itself on the trail.  It did not move when I touched its
tail with my trekking pole, so I tossed it about six feet off the trail wit=
h
the pole.  Gail chided me for mistreating the snake, but I told her it
probably enjoyed it as some enjoy the rides at Six Flags.  We chose to walk
the gravel road from Laurel Gap to U.S. 178, because of the easier grade.
This was probably a mistake, because there is work in progress on the road,
and the new large gravel was difficult to walk on.  Many ATV's and pickups
passed us in both directions on this three-mile stretch.  At 4:30 we reache=
d
U.S. 178, the first asphalt since Whitewater Falls.  A trout fisherman
packing up because of the increasing wind and cold gave us a ride to Holly
Springs, and from there Uncle Frank drove us home.  We had planned to camp
tonight at the old homestead just east of Sassafras Mountain, and walk 14
more miles to the house on Sunday.  But we decided to bail out because of
fatigue.  It was good to be in our own bed a day early, after a satisfying
though very tiring week.